Hutterite Founding families

It has been estimated that there are over 15,000 descendants of the Hutterites living in North Dakota, South Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Although the Hutterite faith traces its origins to the 16th century, all Hutterites are descended from a small founding population of less than 24 families (about 150 individuals) which joined the Brethren between the years 1755-1790, in Deutschkreuz (Siebenbuergen), and later in Wallachia and Ukraine.

The following is a short genealogy (2 - 3 generations) of the earliest known ancestors of these original families. The data is compiled primarily from a church register of the Dariusleut Hutterite Church (received from Joseph Wipf) and from personal archive research in 1987 and 1991 in Klagenfurt, Austria (see Bibliography). I would like to acknowledge Archivists Peter Gruener and Wilhlem Wadl for their assistance in obtaining access to these records.